Section X
Sri Ramakrishna and Keshab Chandra Sen in the Lily Cottage Chapter I In front of Keshab’s house – ‘he looks for you with a [111] yearning heart as you come’ Keshab, Prasanna, Amrit, Umanath, Keshab’s Mother, Rakhal and M. Wednesday, 28 November, 1883. It is the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of Kartik. A devotee is pacing the footpath to the east of the Lily Cottage gate. He seems to be eagerly waiting for someone. To the north of Lily Cottage is the Mangal Bari. A number of Brahmo devotees live there. Keshab lives in the Lily Cottage. His disease has worsened. Most people say, “It appears that there is not much chance of his recovering this time.” Sri Ramakrishna is very fond of Keshab. He is coming to see him today from the Dakshineswar Kali Temple. The devotee pacing outside is awaiting his arrival. The Lily Cottage is situated on the western side of the Circular Road where he is walking. He has been waiting since 2:00 p.m. He sees many people on the road. The Victoria College is situated on the eastern side of the road. A number of ladies from Keshab’s Brahmo Samaj and their daughters study there. One can see deep into the school building from the road. To the north there is a big garden house inhabited by an English gentleman. The devotee on the road has been observing for a long time that there seems to be some misfortune in the house. A little later, he sees a coachman and a groom in black livery bringing a hearse. These arrangements have been going on for the last one-and-a-half or two hours. Somebody has parted from this mortal world, hence all the arrangements. The devotee wonders, “Where does one go when one leaves the body?” A number of carriages rattle southward. The devotee is